Bracket for holding and clamping gas cylinder type fire extinguisher tanks

ABSTRACT

A bracket for holding and clamping securely a gas cylinder tank and more particularly for holding such tanks which have a cylindrical body with a neck at one end and a groove or flange arrangement on the neck, including a refill type of gas cylinder, of the kind used for fire extinguishers, blowtorches and used for spraying or holding liquids such as thermojugs, aerosol cylinders and jars.

Q United States Patent 1 13,565,384

[72] Inventor Lionel Anthony Lockwood [56] References Cited East g UNITED STATES PATENTS 2 3*; 2 1,193,024 8/1916 Kennedy 248/315X e d f' i 1971 1,430,525 9/1922 Webber 248/313X [4 1 i 3,149,808 9/1964 Weckesser 248/74 [73] Be'mmat'c Cwpmm 3,224,644 12/1965 Davis 248/313X 3,292,890 12/1966 Bassett 248/314 3,318,457 5/1967 "Krasnoff.... 248/313 Primary Examiner-Roy D. Frazier Assistant Examiner -J. Franklin Foss 54] BRACKET FOR HOLDING AND CLAMPING GAS AmmeyJurgess, Dmklage & Sprung CYLINDER TYPE FIRE EXTINGUISHER TANKS 1 Claim 3 Drama: Figs ABSTRACT: A bracket for holding and clamping securely a I [52] US. Cl 248/312, gas cylinder tank and more particularly for holding such tanks 211/71, 211/88, 248/146 which have a cylindrical body with a neck at one end and a [51] Int. Cl A47f5/00 groove or flange arrangement on the neck, including a refill [50] Field of Search 2481309, type of gas cylinder, of the kind used for fire extinguishers,

blowtorches and used for spraying or holding liquids such as thermojugs, aerosol cylinders and jars.

PATENTEDFEBQlSfli 3555384 INVENTOR B'Y LIONEL ANTHONY Lock Woob v ATTORNEYS.

BRACKET FOR HOLDING AND CLAMPING GAS CYLINDER TYPE EXTINGUISIIER TANKS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The type bracket generally used to hold and secure a gas cylinder usually consists of multiple metal parts forming a I strap or snap on means of securing the gas cylinder from easy removal. This type of securing against vibratory or easy removal isnecessary in applications in the transportation field such as buses, trucks or in the marine and air applications where the support surface assumes various vertical, horizontal, and angular positions. In the endeavor to provide a secure holding and clamping means, the ease of removal is sacrificed, causing delays at the most inappropriate times. Also, serious delays are encountered due to rusting where the device is secured for long periods of time and the ensuing difficulty arising from the inability to detach the fire extinguisher readily from the bracket. In addition, as well as when a fire extinguisher is used, the metal parts lose their spring characteristics where constant use cause metal spring fatigue or the metal rusts through completely. The fire extinguisher, blowtorch or whatever the tank's contents, are lost in spillage or damage to the tank when the tank is jarred loose or lost after being detached from the bracket.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention lies inthe readily detachable strap and neck holder of a one piece molded plastic-construction. The object being to provide a bracket which combines secure clamping with ease of removal and permanency of holding on a support surface in any plane in every application'to transportation on a vehicle on land, sea or air.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a secure clamping means which is comparatively easy to release by hand but not by vibration or positional change of the support surface.

A further object of the invention'is to provide a one-piece construction which is inexpensive to manufacture and yet efficient, reliable and durable in service and constant reuse.

A still further object is to provide a bracket which is composed of the minimum number of parts possible relative to present brackets for the purpose. above described reducing costs and assembly time of the bracket, and allowing fast and easy removal and attaching of the tank to the bracket.

Further objects and features of the invention may hereinafter appear in the following description and accompanying drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A description of the basic principles of this invention will more readily follow a description of the specific embodiment DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIG. 1, the bracket is shown illustrating a quick detachable clamp 11 and strap 12. A gas cylinder A, as shown in FIG. 2, with a neck having a groove flange or ridge, the neck of which is pressed against the opening 13 of clamp 11 to install it, is held from sliding by the embossed internal ridge 14 or the top surface of clamp 11, depending on the standard annular shape of the gas cylinder neck. Movement is prohibited in the other direction by the enlargement of the neck proportions flaring out to the standard proportions of a cylinder which generally abuts the underside of clamp 11. The tension of strap 12 additionally prohibits the gas cylinder from sliding but is not intended to be the primary means of preventing sliding. I

Strap 12 encircles the body of the cylinder and is made taut by inserting through an end opening 16 of one end of the strap the narrowed down tip 17 of the other end of the strap and drawing the narrowed down tip through the end opening until the barb 18 catches the edge of the end opening of the other end. Strap l2 tension is increased or decreased depending on how many barbs are molded on the back section of tip 17 and which position the tip with the barb on it is drawn and caught in.

For quick release, the portion of strap ,12 having end opening 16 is grasped by the thumb and forefinger, the thumb simultaneously pressing against tip 17 andbarb 18, until the barb 18 is free of the inner edge of end opening 16 and the end portion of the strap grasped by the thumb and forefinger swung away from tip 17 and barb 18. The gas cylinder then is grasped and pulled out of clamp 11 through opening 13, which action frees the cylinder completely.

It is noteworthy that the operation requires only one hand to be free. This is true for the operation required to reattach the cylinder to the bracket as well as detach it, the steps to attach the cylinder being merely a reverse of those for detaching.

The bracket structure itself includes ribs 19 adapted to be secured to any surface contour such as poles, walls or paneling by means of screws, bolts or straps having bolts and nuts through holes 15. As shown, the lower end provides a seating structure 20 to rest the bottom end of the tank on and is also a cradle structure 21 adapted to hold longer tanks when such are positioned in the bracket.

The bracket is one of wide applicability and durable for use where gas cylinder tanks are required to be securely by releasably held especially where vibration or jarring is to be expected as in railway transportation, trucks and airplanes, and particularly where the support surface assumes different planes, as in airplanes and watercraft such as pleasure boats, motor and said or work tugs and barges, to name a few. It is therefore to be understood that a clamp of this invention may be modified by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed in the appended claimsv I claim:

l. A bracket for securing a fire extinguisher of the type including a cylindrical tank which comprises:

a one-piece molded plastic bracket having multiple generally parallel lateral ribs extending rearwards and running axialwise of the supported fire extinguisher, at least one of said ribs having holes therethrough for securing means to a support surface, the upper end of which are L-shaped in a frontwards direction and the lower end of said ribs having a seating means for resting the bottom of the fire extinguisher thereon;

a first pair of parallel cross-ribs positioned at the lower end of and bridging the space between said lateral axialwise ribs and having a curved surface facedly exposed to the lower portion of the cylindrical surface of the bottle portion of the fire extinguisher, whereupon the surface is in facewise engagement against the fire extinguisher cylinder wherein the bottle portion extends beyond the end portion of said parallel ribs;

a second parallel pair of cross-ribs positioned intermediate of and bridging the space between said lateral axialwise parallel ribs and being formed, in extension therefrom, into two strap extremities starting at said outermost parallel axialwise ribs, the extremity of one strap having a hole into which the narrower extremity of the other strap having a barb is engaged by embracing the inner edge of the hole thereby imparting a tension to both said strap extensions and compression to the fire extinguisher circumscribed by said strap extremities whereupon radially of the fire extinguisher, and containing a ridge projecting laterally and radially of the internal surface of said ring clamp thereby providing engagement with the groove of the neck of the fire extinguisher preventing axially directed movement of the fire extinguisher in both directions. 

1. A bracket for securing a fire extinguisher of the type including a cylindrical tank which comprises: a one-piece molded plastic bracket having multiple generally parallel lateral ribs extending rearwards and running axialwise of the supported fire extinguisher, at least one of said ribs having holes therethrough for securing means to a support surface, the upper end of which are L-shaped in a frontwards direction and the lower end of said ribs having a seating means for resting the bottom of the fire extinguisher thereon; a first pair of parallel cross-ribs positioned at the lower end of and bridging the space between said lateral axialwise ribs and having a curved surface facedLy exposed to the lower portion of the cylindrical surface of the bottle portion of the fire extinguisher, whereupon the surface is in facewise engagement against the fire extinguisher cylinder wherein the bottle portion extends beyond the end portion of said parallel ribs; a second parallel pair of cross-ribs positioned intermediate of and bridging the space between said lateral axialwise parallel ribs and being formed, in extension therefrom, into two strap extremities starting at said outermost parallel axialwise ribs, the extremity of one strap having a hole into which the narrower extremity of the other strap having a barb is engaged by embracing the inner edge of the hole thereby imparting a tension to both said strap extensions and compression to the fire extinguisher circumscribed by said strap extremities whereupon radially directed movement of the fire extinguisher is restricted; and an annular ring clamp positioned axially in alignment with said strap extensions at the L-shaped upper end in a frontwards direction and bridging the space between said lateral axialwise ribs and having a slot opening, adapted to permit the insertion therethrough of the neck portion of the fire extinguisher, and containing a ridge projecting laterally and radially of the internal surface of said ring clamp thereby providing engagement with the groove of the neck of the fire extinguisher preventing axially directed movement of the fire extinguisher in both directions. 